Teen returns to school after Romney T-shirt flap

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A 16-year-old high school sophomore who says she was ridiculed by her geometry teacher for wearing a Mitt Romney T-shirt returned to school Tuesday following a rally by cheering supporters.

Samantha Pawlucy hadn't been back to Charles Carroll High School in the city's Port Richmond section since last week. That's when she and her family say she was mocked by her teacher for wearing the shirt supporting the Republican presidential candidate. She said the teacher questioned why she was wearing the shirt and called others in to the room to laugh at her.

Pawlucy, whose family had expressed concern for her safety, returned Tuesday after a rally that featured supporters singing the national anthem and reading the First Amendment — as well as shouts of supporters calling "Go, Sam!" and "You're great, Sam!"

Pawlucy wore the pink "Romney/Ryan" shirt to "dress-down" day on Sept. 28. She said that during class, her geometry teacher Lynette Gaymon pointed out the shirt, questioned why she was wearing it and told her to leave the classroom. Gaymon, Pawlucy said, said it was a "Democratic" school and compared it to wearing a "KKK" shirt.

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Her father, Richard Pawlucy, said the family met with Democratic Mayor Michael Nutter on Sunday night to discuss a resolution. The teacher has apologized and the district's superintendent William Hite Jr. has called the ordeal a "teachable moment."

Hite has said he would work with Nutter and the teacher's union to move "towards a conversation that brings together diverse beliefs, inspires understanding, and heals."